This plan cannot meet proper success without first stabilization found in abstinence from all mind-altering substances, in other words the time has come to take the reins back. Proper assessment can help both the client and therapist to see patterns of addictive behavior through a historical approach. Discovering triggers to addictive behavior, relapse history, and attempts of recovery can provide an extensive list of avoidable…
As some people develop addictions to drugs, and not others, it’s interesting to think about why. Robinson and Berridge go into many complex neurological explanations for this issue, mainly involving animals, but that can, however, carry over into humans. Why certain people can start taking an addictive drug and stop when they so choose, and why others cannot, is interesting to think about. As no two people are the same, there’s obviously not a single, distinctive way to determine a definite cause. It is interesting that both negative and positive reinforcement had been considered as possible descriptions for drug addictions, as they would appear to be opposites.…
Web. 19 Jan. 2016 Blaser, Larry. “Addiction.” The Gale Encyclopedia of Science. Ed.…
Summary of Abstinence I tried to give up soda for six weeks for my abstinence project. For the first two weeks, I stayed strong and did not have any soda. Every time I would usually have a soda, I replaced it with water. At the beginning of my third week, I relapsed and drank soda.…
Medically-Assisted Treatment: Methadone Titration Counseling Group Medically-Assisted Treatment (MAT) has been and continues to be a viable treatment option for individuals with opiate use disorders. The use of opiate-agonist medications, such as Methadone, have been incorporated into treatment programs to provide an alternative to abstinence-based treatment models. While Methadone has been proven successful in “reducing drug use, drug-injecting behaviors, drug-related HIV, and in improving relationships within families among heroin users,” tapering, or titrating, off Methadone, comes with its own set of obstacles and individual needs (Potik, Abramsohn, Peles, Schreiber, & Adelson, 2011, p. 286). This paper will outline a proposal for a counseling…
This study conducted by Charles R. Crow, Riley E. Hinson, and Shepard Sigel focused on conditioned tolerance to the hypothermic effects of alcohol in lab rats. Prior to this, research tested this conditioned tolerance to a few of moprhine’s effects and found that the environment where the rat receives the drug does in fact influence tolerance to drug effects. This current study conducted two separate experiments to gain insight into the importance of environmental stimuli in the conditioning process. The rats used in the experiment all had the same pre testing procedure therefore these results are reliable. By understanding conditioned tolerance in lab rats, we can further use this information to understand the tolerance a drug addict develops with their own habitual drug using environment.…
Unfortunately, sometimes the longer someone goes without something, the more encouraged they are to want it back. According to recent sources, “One of the most common reasons for why people relapse after many years of recovery is that they forget how bad things were. Memory can play tricks on people, and the individual can begin romancing the drink or drug” (“Relapse After Many” 1). Frequently, alcoholics in recovery will forget all the negative moments they had with drinking and focus on the positives or the times alcohol made them happy. Undeniably, romancing the drink is one of the most tempting conflicts recovering alcoholics will have; no matter how long they have been clean.…
Specifically, the reason humans become addicted to a certain drug is because the drug tricks the brain into releasing pleasurable and rewarding chemicals which intrinsically reinforce the person into consuming it again and again. The moment one associates the drug use with these positive feelings, the behavior is learned. Based on the law of effect “behaviors leading to a satisfying state of affairs are strengthened” (Powel & Honey & Symbaluk,, 2013, p. 215), therefore the positive reinforcement that comes after using a drug determines that this behavior will be repeated again. This cyclical pattern of drug use and positive reinforcement is clearly seen in Mark Lewis 's behavior throughout his life as an addict, described in his novel. Lewis himself has stated in an…
Addiction is a state that results when someone consumes a substance or involves themselves in an activity such as gambling in a way that it interferes with their normal life (Howatt 2005). There are various addictions such as drug addiction, gambling, food, internet, sex among others. Initially addiction was assumed to be a disease. However, recent research has shown that it is not a disease as it does not hold all the characteristics of a disease. In 1977.…
Addictions can lead to the worst in people. Those who have an addiction do not have control over what they are doing, taking, or using. It has the power to hurt the individual mentally, physically, and emotionally. According to Lauren Slater, “Rat Park: The Radical Addiction, scientists, Old and Milner were stating that an addiction is a “physiological inevitability”(6) which causes them to conduct experiments in finding the pleasure center. Another scientist who was very fond of finding the cause of addictions was Bruce Alexander.…
Every year, a huge amount of money is used to pay for treatments, or even worse, to buy drugs. That’s why many scientists have conducted experiments and research in order to understand more about drug addiction, its causes, and how to get rid of it. Lauren Slater, in the chapter “Rat Park,” writes about some experiments made since the 1960s about drug addiction and the causes that lead to it. In these research studies, some argue that drug addiction is caused by the brain, others that drugs are inherently addictive.…
Abstinence Summary Paper I have been starring at my computer for almost ten minutes, trying to figure out what to say. I feel like I left everything in my logs. My thoughts about the assignment, my feelings in general about masturbation, things that happened in my life during the time I stayed abstinent. However, the one thing that intrigues me is, it was not that difficult to keep from masturbating.…
Sexual abstinence or sexual restraint is the practice of refraining from some or all aspects of sexual activity for medical, psychological, legal, social, financial, philosophical, moral or religious reasons. Asexuality is distinct from sexual abstinence; and celibacy is sexual abstinence generally motivated by factors such as an individual's personal or religious beliefs.[2] Sexual abstinence before marriage is required in some societies by social norms, or, in some countries, even by laws, and is considered part of chastity. Some societies have or had a double standard in regard to chastity. Abstinence may be voluntary (when an individual chooses not to engage in sexual activity due to moral, religious, philosophical, etc. reasons), an involuntary…
Operant Conditioning What is operant conditioning? Operant conditioning was first discovered and experimented by a American Psychologist B.F Skinner who was the one who experimented on operant conditioning. This means that the purpose of Operant conditioning is to find a way that a behavior can be controlled in a positive or negative way. There could even be some methods in where this condition can be controlled and even researchers have been able to prove these movements. Operant condition isn’t something really serious but in some occasions it might be it will all depend on how you plan in using it.…
Advances in neuroscience today prove the physiological changes that happen when a brain is addicted to drugs. -This is why addicts can not make the right choice and usually can not quit even when the threat of incarceration, loosing a job, or even loosing family is apparent. VII. Conclusion – In conclusion the choice to start taking drugs is left up to the person at hand.…